Walmart trialing "Associate Delivery" service

USA supermarket giant Walmart is asking employees to deliver online orders to customers on their way home from work in an attempt to close the gap with rival Amazon.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT) is testing delivery-by-employees program in a bid to "cut shipping costs and get packages" to customers' doors "faster and more efficiently".

The program is still in test phase and only available at three stores so far - two in New Jersey and one in northwest Arkansas.

Wal-Mart's stores are within 10 miles (16 km) of 90 percent of the USA population, Lore said.

Lore called it a game-changer in Wal-Mart's ability to use its stores to move ahead in e-commerce.

Here's how it works: Trucks moving items from fulfillment centers to stores in the test areas are also taking Walmart.com orders to stores nearest the delivery address.

The opt-in program, which is app-based, enables employees to set preferences, including how many packages they can deliver, the size and weight limits of those parcels, and which days they're able to make deliveries after their work shift ends. For example, there are routing algorithms that minimize the collective distance the employees need to travel off their commutes home to make the deliveries.

Wal-Mart compensates the employees for it but declined to elaborate how it works.

Here's how it works: At the end of a regular shift, an associate picks up packages from the store's backroom, loads them into his or her auto, gets directions through their phone and heads back toward home, making stops along the way.

A map Jariwala showing dots where employees live and where deliveries were going for one recent day revealed extensive overlap.

Under the plan, associates will deliver some orders on their way home using their own vehicles. Expect Walmart to expand it rapidly, and other retailers to watch closely and follow suit. Lore is the former CEO of e-commerce startup Jet.com, which was acquired previous year by Walmart for $3.5 billion to take on Amazon. However, company officials say e-commerce is still a relatively small part of overall sales. The tower allows customers, who choose to order something online and have it sent to a store, to pickup their purchase seamlessly, company spokeswoman Anne Hatfield told TheStreet. Walmart operates 4,962 stores in the USA that total 789.6 million square feet. And we can completely believe that Walmart will make the additional pay for deliveries fair to workers.

At Walmart, Lore has tapped Walmart's massive brick-and-mortar infrastructure to further speed up shipping times.

The concept is brilliant in its simplicity: Ship online orders to stores ... for delivery by sales associates.

In January, the company started offering a free two-day delivery service for orders $35 and over - a direct shot at Amazon Prime's free two-day shipping program offered through a $99-per-year membership free. Still, the final delivery step to a customer's home - what the industry refers to as the "last mile" - "makes up the lion's share of fulfillment costs", Jariwala said. That service is a result of the company's acquisition past year of online retailer Jet.com.

RECCOMENDED STORIES

Cher Pays Tribute To Ex-Husband Gregg Allman
From writing to performing, Allman's work always seemed to reflect the energy, beauty and pain from which he drew his inspiration. And he was that way from the time I first met him. "If somebody offered me a second round, I think I'd have to pass on it".

Microsoft To Pay Users If They Search With Bing
The beauty of it is, you don't have to use it all the time, just max out those points and go back to your preferred search engine. Once that's done, you simply need to be signed in to your account whenever you use Bing to accrue points.

Ariana Grande Taking Time Off After Deadly Manchester Attack
A 23-year-old man - named in reports as Abedi's older brother Ismail - was detained in Chorlton, south Manchester , on Tuesday. Officials said all of the bombing victims have been identified, but names were being withheld until autopsies were completed.

United States and China Take First Steps in Trade Deal
China is turning more to natural gas as a way to reduce its dependence on coal and combat the country's extensive air pollution. He estimated the agreements would result in an improvement in the US trade deficit with China by the end of the year.

Ariana Grande announces Manchester benefit concert
Hundreds of people have been evacuated London's Old Vic Theatre during a performance and police say they are on the scene. Greater Manchester Police did not reveal where it was taken or at what stage of the evening.

White House Communications Director Resigns
He offered to stay on to help manage communications in Washington during Trump's foreign trip, and the president accepted. A midnight tweet from President Donald Trump has social media trying to find a meaning in the mysterious term "covfefe".

Gunfight at Nissan dealership turns deadly in Greenville
The Dallas Morning News reports the video shows two armed men cornering a third man in a glass office at the dealership. Kevin Reece, a reporter for WFAA-TV, reported that those killed are believed to be two bounty hunters and their target.

Manchester bombing: Eight arrested over terrorist attack
Abdul Wahab Hafidah was run over and stabbed in Manchester in May 2016 in what is believed to have been a gangland killing. The officials said the young man told authorities that he had been involved in planning the May 22 Manchester attack .